Eve Shapiro

Eve Shapiro has lived and worked in three different countries—attesting to an international career and her invaluably global perspective.

Born in South Africa, at the age of 17 she won an award for best amateur theatrical production of the year. Encouraged by praise, she ventured to London for further training and was given a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Upon completion of her studies, she was asked to join RADA’s faculty as a director and teacher. During her fourteen years at RADA, she trained Alan Rickman, Jonathan Pryce, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, and Tom Courtney, among many other artists of subsequent recognition.

In England, Eve directed the York Theatre Royal, the Bournemouth Rep, and The Leeds Playhouse. In York, she directed a production of T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral in York Minster to celebrate the cathedral’s restoration.

In the late seventies, Alan Schneider, then artistic director of Juilliard Drama, invited Shapiro to come to New York to direct a production of Richard III. The success of that association led to a permanent appointment in the Drama Division where she directed many wide-ranging productions: Another Part of the Forest, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Hedda Gabler, Heartbreak House, Man and Superman, Undiscovered Country, Top Girls, A Month in the Country, Six Characters in Search of an Author, A Winter’s Tale, Richard II, and The Importance of Being Earnest, among them.

In the late ’80s, she directed a highly regarded production of the opera, The Crucible, in Juilliard’s Opera Center and Così fan tutte. She has since joined the Opera Division where she directed The Rape of Lucretia—a production still fondly remembered, Susannah, La Cenerentola, Eugene Onegin, Die Fledermaus, The Bartered Bride, and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Eve directed a video on English Literature for Schools. The video won the Silver Apple Award for excellence in educational media.

She also directed Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, and Macbeth for The Acting Company. She recently returned to London to direct “You Never Can Tell” and The Beggar’s Opera for RADA.

In addition to the critical praise she has received for directing, Eve has been regarded as an important acting teacher—influencing countless students who have gone on to notable careers. She continues to coach acting in the Vocal Arts Department at Juilliard, where she seeks to align good acting with heartfelt singing.

Hugh Cruttwell, head of the RADA, has said of Eve, “She has a remarkable gift of getting the best out of each actor. Group after group has found her a uniquely valuable teacher and director.”